Last updated: 15/10/2025
Please keep in mind that Honkai: Star Rail is a game where team building matters most and while our tier list takes the optimal setup into account, a lot of characters can work and do well - even those ranked lower - when you invest into them. Also for story or lower difficulties of Simulated Universe, you don't need to worry about ratings and tiers. You can safely clear that content even with F2P characters as long as you build your team correctly.
These tier lists rate characters based on their average performance in Memory of Chaos, Pure Fiction and Apocalyptic Shadow regardless of turbulence, whimsicality and cacophony (last 3 phases specifically) . Characters rated higher will perform well without the need to rely on these and will only benefit more from receiving them. As new mechanics, characters and challenges are introduced each tier list will be updated.
Important! Characters are ordered alphabetically within a tier .
Available tier lists:
About the ratings :
To decide the ratings we use a combination of the data we gather for every mode (the Analytics for every mode you can find in the left menu), our own testing that's done inline with the criteria (check below) and the last element is community feedback we receive - either from Reddit, YouTube or our own Discord.
Tags are split into 3 categories: Pros , Cons and Archetype which represent the most defining features of a character's kit and the current meta archetypes they fit into. Archetype tags indicate a connection between characters with that tag e.g. Acheron requires debuffs to work and Silver Wolf applies them. Here is a full list of all current tags and what they mean:
Meta Lines categorize each section of the tier list into a power bracket. Here are the four brackets:
To further define the tier list and correctly represent the power level of each character in relation to each other we have added half tiers to the higher tier brackets. Under our previous system a tier rating jump of 1 tier rating made it difficult to position characters accurately, often leading to multiple characters ending up in the same tier despite a clear power and utility difference.
We compare characters within their role - so DPS are compared to other DPS and the ratings are adjusted based on their performance within the role. Don't try to compare characters between roles (for example an Amplifier with a DPS), because their ratings mean different things.
Each tier list rates characters based on their average value in the specific game mode it represents. The higher a character is rated on the tier list the greater their power and more widely they can be used effectively in the mode , helping the players in getting all rewards every cycle. We aren't looking at 0-cycle potential . We consider:
This update contains the addition of
Dan Heng Permansor Terrae
PF is a little more challenging though, as while DHPT is powerful, Hyacine in PF is on a completely different level, making sitting alongside her a challenge. On the other end of the spectrum DHPT is definitely stronger than the existing sustain cast in most scenarios. Whether itâs enough to push the entire sustain category down below him, making him the sole T0.5 character is another story, and a move weâre not committed to making until we see how he performs in the hands of a large amount of players. In PF, DHPT will be sitting alongside Huohuo, Aventurine and Lingsha for now - although all three of them have been watchlisted to potentially move down pending his performance.
Apocalyptic Shadow Updates
In this update weâre adding
Still, the biggest change weâre making in this update is a swap from a strictly no Signature tier list to one including them. Previously characters were assessed with (and limited) to Standard S1 5â Light Cones, any S5 4â Light Cone and Hertaâs S5 5â Light Cones. Under the new criteria, characters will still have access to the previously listed Light Cones, but also any Limited S1 5â Light Cone as well. Here are the reasons why weâre making this change:
With all of that said, weâre not making this change lightly - we first investigated multiple solutions:
Ultimately our final decision, one that has been forced upon us by the state of the game, is to make the full swap to Signatures - or rather their best Light Cones, as some characters don't use a Signature Light Cone as their best in slot. As always weâll be listening closely to your feedback, so send it our way!
As mentioned, also in this update we moved
Now let's move to
We also want to make a special mention for DoT in Apocalyptic Shadow as the 'shilling 'of free DoT break in the mode is now coming to an end with this upcoming phase. Weâre maintaining
Weâll be watching closely how these changes play out, and will make adjustments where needed based on feedback in our next update.
As usual weâre proceeding with our routine post phase update - this time based on 3.5 Pure Fiction:
In this update weâre adding
Cerydra is the first character where weâre sure sheâll perform at the top of the meta, perhaps even being one of, if not the highest scoring amplifier for as long as Anaxa and Phainon dominate. But on the other hand we also want and need to represent the fact that outside of these two sheâs underwhelming.
To remedy this as best we can weâre introducing the [Partner++] tag, an upgraded version of our usual [Partner] tag as well as making the original partner tag clearer.
Weâre also upgrading Hysilensâs [Partner] tag to [Partner ++] .
Summing it up, weâre rating Cerydra highly on her release as she not only has a place alongside two of the strongest damage dealers but elevates them meaningfully in power. Even though Cerydra is niche, we expect sheâll perform very well for those who can utilize her - weâll be relying on the [Partner ++] tag to communicate her shortcomings. In addition to adding Cerydra, weâre also renaming the Niche meta line to Off-Meta based on community feedback.
Finally after considerable deliberation, weâve also decided to follow through on a previous watchlist to adjust
Also, you can expect the Signature tier list split update and rework before the release of Evernight. During this update weâll also be re-assessing the DPS category based on how much higher Cerydra pushes Anaxa and Phainon up the power scale.
In this update weâre back to our usual routine updates shortly after each phase's release - this time weâll be addressing 3.5s Apocalyptic Shadow.
Let's move to other characters.
The Revival of DoT
With the release of
As usual, when we add new units to the tier list we prefer to place them conservatively to avoid having to drop them later, after players have already pulled them. We would much rather raise them once we have data, and theyâve proven themselves. Hysilens and the 'older' DoT characters are no exception to this.
Across all three modes DoT has been given favorable encounters and buffs to work with at the time of Hysilensâs release - something that isnât uncommon but certainly allows them to perform above what their average performance may be at in the future. For that reason, weâve assigned watchlists where appropriate with the intent to raise DoT as a whole when we have more information.
With the above in mind we want to specifically call out each of their AS rankings. DoT has always struggled in AS due to their mostly low toughness damage outside of post buff Kafkaâs ability to launch frequent FuAs. Hysilens does not change this fact, but does introduce a whole lot more damage. Based on this, the favorable buffs and our testing, we expect DoT to do well initially but are ranking them on the low end for the mode as we donât expect this performance to last in future phases with less favorable buffs. If DoT continues to perform outside of heavily âshilledâ content weâll re-evaluate their rating at that time.
MoC Update:
PF Update:
Tier List ( Memory of Chaos )
You're currently viewing the Memory of Chaos tier list. It shows how the character performs in the Memory of Chaos. Blast and single target damage are important here while AoE has niche uses against some bosses. Use the switcher below to view a different tier list.
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